"Do you presume to say I was not General Wilders's wife?" she asked hotly.
"Not his lawful wife. Stay, madam," he said, seeing Mrs. Wilders half rise from her chair. "You must hear me out. We have evidence, the clearest seemingly; disprove it if you can."
"What evidence?"
"The certificate of your other marriage. It is here."
"How came you by it?" she inquired eagerly.
"No matter, it is all in proper form; you could not contest it, understand."
"Well? I never pretended when I gave my hand to Colonel Wilders that I had not been married before. He was well aware of it."
"But not that your first husband was alive at the time."
"It is false! He was dead—drowned; he drowned himself in the Seine."
"Your first husband is alive still, and you know it. You have seen him yourself within these last few days. He is ready to come forward at any time. It is he in fact who has furnished us with these proofs."